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| Ledisi |
I learned some valuable lessons while working with singers a few years back. You just cannot “give” a song to a singer and expect everything to come out great. Even with much practice and coaching the vocalist will only sing fair at best. Why? Because there are many factors that contribute to great vocal performances. I’m sure most of you who have watched American Idol heard Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson comment repeatedly about the importance of selecting the right material. More is involved than choosing songs within the proper range and key for the singer, also important are the lyrics and how the vocalist is able to connect with his or her audience. You may not think connecting with the audience is vital in recorded music, but think again. Trust me when I say you can easily discern if the singer is not emotionally attached to the material. However, it’s easy to hear and appreciate when a song seems to be made for a singer. Such is the case with the song “Pieces of me” by Ledisi. I got a tip that the entire album was really good and so I purchased it earlier this year. Excellent! The album has several very good songs throughout. The title song “Pieces of me” boasts stellar songwriters in Ledisi herself, Claude Kelly and Chuck Harmony. Claude and Chuck Harmony have long lists’ of artists and hits to show their understanding of the importance of song choice. When Ledisi sings “Pieces of me” you can feel she believes what she’s saying. Most definitely Ledisi has enough vocal experience to know the song is an integral part of the performance. Now she has three Grammy nominations to show for the love she instilled into her beautiful album. By the way, it helps that Ledisi is a unique singer with a fantastic voice. Will she win a Grammy this year? There is a lot of competition but anything can happen. Please do yourself a favor; buy her album and enjoy a fine musical work.